Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

The events of Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II unfold a year following the destruction of the second Death Star. Jerec, the Imperial Inquisitor leading the Seven Dark Jedi, seeks the map to the Valley of the Jedi, resulting in the capture and death of Jedi Master Qu Rahn. Concurrently, Kyle Katarn, a mercenary, pursues the informant droid 8t88 to retrieve a data holodisc that once belonged to his deceased father, Morgan Katarn. Upon securing the holodisc, Katarn returns to his home on Sulon, where he uses his droid WeeGee to access its contents. A hologram of his father reveals a lightsaber and tasks him with protecting the Valley of the Jedi.

Throughout his journey, Katarn is aided by Jan Ors, his trusted partner and pilot, as well as the spirit of Qu Rahn, who guides him in the ways of the Force. He confronts the Dark Jedi and ultimately discovers the Valley of the Jedi on Ruusan. Jerec intends to harness the ancient Force power contained within the Valley, but Katarn intervenes, defeating him in a lightsaber duel.

Kyle Katarn arranged a meeting with the droid informant 8t88 at the Smuggler's Bar on Nar Shaddaa, where he discovered that Jerec, a Dark Jedi, had murdered his father, Morgan Katarn. When 8t88 attempted to coerce Katarn into deciphering a data holodisc, Katarn refused and battled against 8t88's hired thugs. 8t88 then fled with the holodisc, compelling Katarn to pursue him across the Nar Shaddaa cargo docks, defeating several hired thugs along the way. Katarn caught up with 8t88 just as the droid was boarding a shuttle, managing to shoot off the droid's arm that held the holodisc. Shortly after 8t88's shuttle departed, a TIE bomber appeared and began firing at Katarn, but Katarn's partner Jan Ors arrived in their ship, the Moldy Crow, and destroyed the TIE bomber.

Katarn then descended below the landing pad and retrieved the holodisc after arranging for Ors to pick him up at the top of the building. He navigated through cargo storages, conveyor belts, and other areas, constantly defending against attacks from 8t88's hired thugs. By the time he reached the top and Ors picked him up, he was so severely injured that he needed to spend the night recovering in a medical frigate. While resting, he experienced a Force vision of Jedi Master Qu Rahn, who informed him about the Valley of the Jedi and his destiny to become a Jedi Knight.

Upon his return to the old Katarn family compound on Sulon, Katarn observed three Dark Jedi – Sariss, Boc and Yun – loading pieces of the stone ceiling into an Imperial shuttle. After the shuttle departed, Katarn infiltrated his former home and discovered it was overrun by Grave Tuskens. He battled them as he progressed through the compound and entered his father's workshop, where he found his family's old droid, WeeGee.

Activating WeeGee, Katarn inserted the holodisk and watched a recording of his father revealing that he had left behind two items for him. The first was a green-bladed lightsaber that previously belonged to Qu Rahn. The second was a map to the Valley of the Jedi embedded in the stone ceiling. As the Dark Jedi had taken the ceiling, Katarn needed to find another way to locate the Valley. With the exit blocked, Katarn had to escape the house through the irrigation channels. Along the way, he defeated several Grave Tuskens and other creatures like Drugons and Mailocs until he reached the rendezvous point, where Ors picked him up in the Moldy Crow.

Katarn and Ors embarked on a quest to find the map, which led them to the city of Barons Hed on Sulon. The Imperial Remnant had occupied the city and constructed a fortress known as the Dark Palace in its center. Believing he could find 8t88 in the Dark Palace, Katarn infiltrated the city through the irrigation channels and eventually entered the heavily guarded fortress.

Katarn located 8t88 just as the droid finished sending the deciphered map to Jerec. When he confronted 8t88 and demanded the map, Yun suddenly appeared and used a Force blast to knock him back. Katarn defeated Yun in a lightsaber duel but spared his life, much to Yun's surprise and confusion.

After Yun escaped through the roof, Katarn continued his pursuit of 8t88, navigating the top levels of the fortress and battling a Kell dragon and various Imperial forces along the way. However, he arrived too late, as 8t88 had just flown away in his shuttle. Shortly after, Ors arrived in the Moldy Crow and picked him up.

Katarn and Ors tracked 8t88's shuttle to a fuel station where the Sulon Star, a freighter owned by Jerec, was docked. To avoid alerting the Imperial Remnant, Katarn sneaked aboard the freighter through the station's giant fuel lines. He emptied the fuel lines to pass through them, defeating Imperial forces and Trandoshan mercenaries along the way.

Once aboard the Sulon Star, he descended to the docking bays on the lower deck and eliminated Imperial forces. Eventually, he found 8t88's shuttle and the droid standing in front of it. When he aimed his Bryar pistol at 8t88, the droid's head fell off. Gorc and Pic, the two Dark Jedi known as the "Brothers of the Sith," appeared and attacked him. Katarn defeated them and claimed 8t88's head. He then returned to the upper deck of the Sulon Star, where Ors picked him up in the Moldy Crow. Using 8t88's head, they discovered that the Valley of the Jedi was on Ruusan and headed there.

Upon their arrival at Ruusan, the Moldy Crow landed in a mountainous region to evade detection by the Imperial Remnant. Katarn traversed the mountainous terrain, eliminating Imperial forces and hostile creatures like Mailocs and Drugons until he reached an elevator that would take him to the landing platform where the Sulon Star was located.

As soon as he exited the elevator, he was attacked by Maw, a Dark Jedi who relied on the Force and a repulsorlift carriage for mobility after losing his legs. Katarn dueled Maw and eventually defeated him. Maw attempted to provoke Katarn to the dark side by revealing the circumstances of Morgan Katarn's death. Shortly after Katarn succumbed to his anger and killed Maw, Jerec and the Dark Jedi arrived with a captured Ors. Jerec offered Katarn a chance to join him and prove his loyalty by killing Ors, but Katarn regained his composure and rejected the dark side.

Disappointed, Jerec used a Force blast to knock Katarn back. However, the Force blast was so powerful that it damaged the Sulon Star, causing it to collapse. Katarn boarded the falling freighter and, in a desperate race against time, reached the docking bay where the Moldy Crow was held and flew out of the Sulon Star before it crashed and exploded.

The explosion caused the Moldy Crow to crash as well. Shortly after, Sariss, Boc, and Yun arrived at the wreckage and pulled out an incapacitated Katarn. Boc taunted Katarn and destroyed his lightsaber with a rock before leaving to join Jerec in the Valley. Sariss drew her lightsaber and prepared to kill Katarn, but Yun intervened and was accidentally killed by Sariss with a reflex blow. Before dying, Yun declared that Katarn was a Jedi and deserved a battle. By then, Katarn had recovered his strength and claimed Yun's yellow-bladed lightsaber as his own, using it to defeat and kill Sariss.

Katarn then used a cargo conveying system to reach the Valley's outer perimeter before navigating the airflows of the mining exhaust ports until he reached the Imperial excavation site leading into the Valley. He traversed underground tunnels until he reached the ancient ruins of the Valley, eliminating all Imperial forces along the way and defeating two Kell dragons in the tunnels. In the Valley, he found Ors tied to a pole and rescued her. At that moment, Boc, who had been disguised as a statue, revealed himself and attacked Katarn with his two lightsabers.

After Katarn defeated Boc, Jerec, who had been absorbing the Valley's power, awoke from his meditation and engaged Katarn in a lightsaber duel. As they fought, Jerec activated the ancient machinery intended to grant him the Valley's full power, but Katarn thwarted him at every turn and ultimately defeated him. Disarmed and at Katarn's mercy, Jerec tried to tempt Katarn to the dark side by reminding him that he was responsible for Morgan Katarn's death. However, Katarn replied that he had not forgotten, and then picked up Jerec's lightsaber and threw it back to him. Jerec activated his lightsaber and charged at Katarn, but was cut down and his physical form faded away.

With Jerec's defeat, Katarn fulfilled an old prophecy and freed the spirits of the Jedi who had been trapped in the Valley since the Seventh Battle of Ruusan. To honor his father and Qu Rahn for their sacrifices, Katarn carved statues of them in the Valley while Ors and WeeGee watched him as he completed his work.

If the player chooses the dark side, the alternate ending is triggered after Katarn defeats Maw. Katarn kills Ors and becomes Jerec's rival, desiring the power of the Valley for himself. After Jerec knocks him back with a Force blast, Katarn races against time in the Sulon Star to reach the Moldy Crow and escapes the exploding freighter. However, the Moldy Crow does not crash-land. Katarn exits and duels Yun again, this time to the death. After killing Yun, he makes his way to the Valley and eventually defeats Boc and Jerec, becoming the new Emperor of the Galactic Empire. In the ending cutscene, he takes the throne and orders Sariss, who now serves him, to deal with some rebels. Finally, he watches the hologram of his father one last time before crushing it under his foot.

Jedi Knight stands out due to the ethical choices woven into its gameplay. Katarn starts as a neutral character, not aligned with either the light or dark side. Actions against unarmed civilians and the Force powers chosen by the player influence Katarn's alignment. Ultimately, Katarn must decide between the light and dark sides, based on the player's actions. This feature was later expanded upon in games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

Katarn begins the game without Force abilities. As the player progresses, Katarn gains Jedi abilities known as "Force Powers." These powers are divided into three categories: Neutral, Light, and Dark. The game awards one "Force point" for completing each level, with an additional point for finding all secret areas. These points can be used to enhance any Force power.

Online multiplayer arenas provided another avenue for exploring Jedi Knight's gameplay. Plot and Force alignment became secondary as players could bypass the game's Artificial intelligence and engage in multiplayer combat. The unique aspects of Jedi Knight set it apart from other first-person shooters in the online arena. While Force powers, agility, and large weapons were not as critical in single-player mode, they became essential in online play.

The game lacked a dedicated server and relied on the MSN Gaming Zone for hosting, with "IP boards" hosted on fan sites like JediKnight.net and Ron Mercer's Qtracker (formerly hosted at stomped.com). Most games took place in the Nar Shaddaa (Nar) game room, which became a hub for clan wars, recruitment, and challenges. Four game types were predominantly used: Full Force (FF) Battle Ground Jedi (BGJ), Canyon Oasis (CO), No Force (NF) Battle Ground Jedi, and JI Oasis (an add-on level created by the Jedi Infantry clan). Games ranged from two to four players, allowing free-for-all, teams, and head-to-head combat. Capture the Flag (CTF) was another popular game type.

The absence of dedicated servers led to lag issues during online play. Messages were not centrally processed, resulting in discrepancies between perceived hits and actual events. Players compensated for lag by shooting ahead of their opponents to register hits on their computers.

Canyon Oasis was a frequently played map due to its diverse weapons/pickups and varied terrain (including water tunnels and ramps). Its bright lighting also made stealth a less viable tactic compared to darker maps favored by the development team and mod makers (such as Blades of Death). Despite its popularity, a movement against its overuse emerged, leading to the formation of a player group with the slogan "Because we're sick of Canyon Oasis." [1]

Cheating was a significant issue until the release of the third-party program "Kicker Helper" to combat it. Jedi Knight's permissive checksum system allowed most "hacks" or "cogs" to function. However, the game's physics engine and Force system were so permissive that some normal actions were misinterpreted as cheating. "Hypergrip" or "Supergrip" involved using Force grip on an opponent at an accelerated rate to kill them in seconds. This was achieved by targeting an opponent with Force grip and repeatedly pressing the assigned Use Force Power key, sending rapid pulses of grip that eventually killed the opponent. The same technique could be used with Force pull to repeatedly draw a weapon, often creating multiple copies within the level due to lag.

Currently, GameSpy Arcade and QTracker still support Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith online play. However, IG Zone, a spiritual successor to MSN Gaming Zone's CD game section, is a more populated platform. Some groups also organize games on IRC. NarShaddaa.net hosts a dedicated server for its remaining fans, and numerous mod projects keep interest alive.

• UPC 023272952426; April 30 , 2001 ; LucasArts Entertainment Company ; LucasArts Archive Series edition [6] [7]

Similar to its predecessor, Star Wars: Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire, this game incorporates live-action videos, but with more than double the number of scenes. The actors spent six days filming the scenes in front of a blue screen, with computer graphics added later. Michael Burnett handled the creature makeup, while Justin Chin penned the story.

The accompanying game manual is noteworthy for introducing the first name "Qu" for the Jedi Master Rahn. It also included descriptions of various enemies and Force powers, presented as excerpts from Qu Rahn's journal.

The demo disc for Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, subtitled Pathways to the Force, contained three levels from the full game and was sold as an OEM. The disc's image is identical to Disc 1 for the full game, but a version with a yellow layer over the image also exists.

Despite being marketed as Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II on the game box, jewel case, instruction manual, official strategy guide, and LucasArts.com, the game's opening crawl displays the title as Star Wars: Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight.

The cover of the version bundled with Mysteries of the Sith depicts Darth Vader fighting the Jedi protagonist. However, Darth Vader is absent from Jedi Knight and appears only as a multiplayer skin in Mysteries of the Sith (Dark Mara and Dark Kyle take his place in the Bespin secret level in the latter).

Since the release of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, subsequent games, comics, and books have based the appearances of various characters on their portrayals in this game.

The appearance of the Holodisc was featured in the Star Wars Rebels animated series episodes "Empire Day" and "Gathering Forces," which also canonized the disc's design.

Jan Ors' ship, the Moldy Crow, served as the basis for the HWK-290 light freighter ship type, which appeared in the canon Kanan 12 comic. This version was painted black and lacked an underside blaster turret.

Just four months after Jedi Knight's initial debut, LucasArts launched Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, an official expansion pack. This expansion, developed by the LucasArts team behind Outlaws (a spaghetti-western-themed first-person shooter), offers players the chance to control Mara Jade for a significant portion of the game. Numerous technical enhancements and upgrades were incorporated into this expansion.